The Freshman Phones Home

And we have contact.

25 days after campus installation, I received the very first unsolicited voice mail message from my Freshperson. I reproduce it here for your reading pleasure.

(lots of static) “Um, mom. It’s me. A pen, um, exploded in my backpack. Is there a way to get ink off a leather wallet? Okay, thanks. Love you.”

I was thrilled by this message – I replayed it over and over to consider every little nuance and analyze every possible inflection – because:

1) The mention of the pen suggests that he may actually be doing something vaguely academic
2) The mention of the backpack means he hasn’t lost it (yet)
3) The mention of the wallet means he hasn’t lost it (and everything in it) yet

Oh, and the “Love you?” That means, well, everything.

Comments

And it's also very possible that your Freshperson still has his cellphone in his possession since he left you a voicemail message!

And, yes, the "Love You" part makes it all worth it. Don't delete that one!

It's been 6 weeks after my daughter left for college, and we haven't seen her. She runs, has practice every day and can't come home till season is over. But her coach called the other day said she had a 'pms moment' and he is letting her miss practice saturday so she can come home tomorrow night. He said she was very teary and said she missed us! Forget about the fact that I get to spend 6 hours in the car saturday night depositing her so she can be back by 8 am sunday...she misses us!

As a senior in college, I can tell you with certainty that this is your son seizing a perfect opportunity to call Mom. He doesn't want to know about laundry! He's homesick and misses you! :)

I am thoroughly enjoying your latest venture on ivillage. I'm very proud of all of your accomplishments...in your career as wife, mother, and writer. I laugh when I read the stories you choose to share. (I would probably laugh even harder if they were about someone else's family.) I 'm looking forward to reading more (I think). Either way, I love you.